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They entered Duji Cloth Shop. The outside of the cloth shop wasn’t large, but the inside was very spacious. It was full of colorful fabric stacked on wooden frames. The green and blue silk hung from the wooden beams on the room, surrounding them in fabric. There was cotton, satin, silk, everything that should be there, there was. The east wall also had a stack of various tassels.
Ger Yan was very uneasy. He pulled the corner of Lin Lixuan’s clothes. “Lin-dage, what are we doing here? Mother didn’t say she wanted to buy cloth…”
“We’re buying you clothes.” Lin Lixuan patted his head. The words that came out of his mouth scared Ger Yan.
“For me? Ah…” Ger Yan didn’t react for a while. After thinking clearly about the meaning of the words, he hurriedly refused, “No, no. I don’t need it.” In Ger Yan’s world, buying clothes wasn’t a familiar concept. He had never worn brand new clothes before.
Every year, the Ji family would buy some cotton cloth, but the newly made clothes were always worn by his cousins. As for the others, they would naturally get the old clothes with patches on them. He’d always lived like this, as did his mother and Ger Yu.
Lin Lixuan tightly grabbed his wrist, stopping Ger Yan from turning away. He firmly circled the other party by his side and warned him. “Stand still and don’t move.”
Ger Yan was most afraid when he showed a stern expression, so he obediently stood still. Seeing that he was no longer struggling, Lin Lixuan smiled and coaxed him in a relaxed tone. “Good boy. You have been at our house for so long, and you haven’t purchased new clothes yet. If others knew about this, they would say I’m abusing you…”
“You’ve never abused me!” He was raised so well, he was about to become a lazy pig, so how could someone say he was “abused”? In Ger Yan’s mind, the villagers were probably calling him a lazy wife… A few days ago, Ger Yan tried the clothes he’d brought with him, but they didn’t fit. Ger Yan had gained a lot of weight. He even thought his butt had become a lot rounder. Although he looked good now, what would he do if he continued to gain weight?
Always be vigilant. This was what Lin Lixuan had taught him a few days ago. Ger Yan was now learning how to read this. He was also now being “vigilant” about his own body.
Lin Lixuan was amused by his little aggrieved tone.
Once Lin Lixuan decided to do something, he couldn’t be persuaded otherwise. He beckoned the proprietress to lead them to see the cloth. Ger Yan thought Lin Lixuan was just going to buy some cotton cloth to take home and make clothes themselves, but who knew he was going to have him try the ready-made clothes. The proprietress was also a tailor and made a lot of ready-made clothes to sell in the store.
Ger Yan didn’t dare touch the clothes. Lin Lixuan urged him to change. The boss, who was dressed in red, stood on the side and also urged, “Little mister, go quickly. See how good your husband is to you. He has good taste too. This indigo color suits you well.”
Ger Yan blushed. He took the clothes and quickly walked to the dark gray curtains at the back of the store. When he closed the curtain, his eyes swept over Lin Lixuan and the proprietress’ faces, but then he suddenly saw his cousin, Ji Xuan, flash behind them.
Ji Xuan. Right, he also studied in the county town.
Du Feibai walked out from the side door of the store. Ji Xuan and his friends were waiting on the side of the street. “I’m here.”
Ji Xuan’s face was full of flattering smiles. If Ger Yan were there, he would definitely be shocked by his cousin, who was usually invincible in their family. Yet here, he was actually showing a flattering smile.
“Where are we going today?” Ji Xuan asked.
“Shall we head to Jade Wave Lake” someone suggested.
“My god. You actually want to play in the water on such a cold day? Bro, you’re too interesting,” Ji Xuan said exaggeratedly.
“Hey, hey, hey. Let me tell you. I saw a beauty by Jade Wave Lake a few days ago…” the man said, furrowing his brows ambiguously.
“A beauty?”
“That’s right. I don’t know which rich family the beauty was from. Why don’t we go there together and take a look. We might even encounter a “romantic affair”.
“How about we bring our pens and paper and recite poems by the lake?”
“That’s a good idea. Maybe we can make the beauty fall in love with our talent…”
“…”
The group spoke one after another and decided on their day’s activities.
“You guys go ahead. I’m going to the bookstore to read today.” Du Feibai looked at them with an apologetic expression.
They were all excited, but then this person splashed cold water on their heads. Ji Xuan frowned. “You already became a Xiucai this year, so why are you still working so hard?”
“That’s right.”
“We can work hard again next year to become great officials.” Ji Xuan had always believed that the spring was for reading, hot summer days were for lazing around, and the cool autumn was for freshing strolls. They could study again next year.
Du Feibai shook his head. He didn’t want to idle around with them, especially Ji Xuan, who didn’t study well. He wanted to study well.
Ger Yan changed his clothes and came out of the inner room. He pulled the cloth with his left hand, looked left and right, and felt that something was wrong with his body.
Lin Lixuan walked up to him. His eyes were full of satisfaction. “The clothes suit you well. Come, turn around.”
Ger Yan’s head was dizzy as he was spun around. His face turned red, as if he’d applied a layer of thick rouge.
Ger Yan was born good-looking. All three brothers in his family all resembled their mother, Li Yue’e. Others thought Ger Yan, who used to wear old, gray clothes, looked good. But now that he’d changed into brightly colored, new clothes, he looked even more beautiful.
In Lin Lixuan’s eyes, Ger Yan, who had changed into new clothes, was like a cat who had rolled in the mud and was finally showing his true coat after his owner washed him up. His entire body looked new. The unique cinnabar mole between his eyebrows looked more red and more glamorous than in the past. His powderless cheeks looked white and pure under the light.
Ger Yan lowered his head in embarrassment. His dimples secretly appeared, as if afraid to let others know that its master was holding back his smile.
The corners of the Shuang’er’s eyes and eyebrows in front of him held a hint of flattery. It moved Lin Lixuan’s heart.
Lin Lixuan told the proprietress he wanted this set of clothes. The proprietress responded with a smile. Ger Yan wanted to change his clothes, but Lin Lixuan asked him not to and to go home like this. Seeing that Ger Yan was beautiful, the proprietress also helped him put his hair in delicate double buns and gave him a simple wooden hairpin. Before leaving, Lin Lixuan also bought two pieces of cloth. The colors were all picked by Ger Yan. One was red-purple, and the other was moonlight white.
At this point, the four taels of silver they brought with them were all spent.
Ger Yan was worried about this matter. He felt that there was something wrong with his husband. The other party seemed to always spend everything he had. He would never let his money stay in his wallet for long.
What would they do if they could never save any money?
Ji Yan was both happy and distressed.
On their way back, they first went to the city gate to get the donkey cart. The donkey cart rocked its way back to Jade Creek Village. The little donkey was very excited to see Ger Yan. Ger Yan took a carrot and fed it. In the past, Ger Yan always fed the donkey, but this time, he was careful not to get anything on his new clothes. When Lin Lixuan saw this, he even teased him.
“What’s wrong? Are you distancing yourself from your friend?”
“…” This was the first time Ger Yan wanted to slap him in the face.
Jade Creek Village sat upright in the donkey cart, while Lin Lixuan didn’t. He had already learned from the villagers of Jade Creek Village and lay on his back in the cart, with his hands crossed behind his head. This look, along with a piece of grass in his mouth, was no different from the village’s second master herding cattle.
The donkey cart was bumpy, shaking them. Lin Lixuan chatted with Ger Yan every once in a while. He would say that after Ger Yan changed his clothes, it was like he was a completely different person, making the other person shy. He would then coax him, then say that he’d secretly learned the way the proprietress of the cloth shop had styled his hair, and he would help him do his hair at home.
Ger Yan was sometimes embarrassed, sometimes angry, and sometimes happy. His face turned all different shades of the rainbow.
“Lin-dage, why did you call Chu Zihang Wenle today? Isn’t his surname Chu and his given name Zihang?”
“Oh, that’s a scholar’s courtesy name…”
“Then do you have a courtesy name?”
He did. His grandfather from his mother’s side had given it to him. “I do. It’s Jingzhi.”
“Then…when it’s just the two of us, can I call you that?”
Lin Lixuan closed his eyes and softly said, “yes, but—”
“But what?” Ger Yan was apprehensive.
“But…” Lin Lixuan deliberately spoke slowly. The corners of his mouth hooked up in a smile. “In private, I would be much happier if you called me husband, honey, hubby, or something like that…”
“…”
The little donkey’s tail flicked round and round. Lin Lixuan gradually fell asleep in the cart as he spoke. The two of them had run around all day looking for a shop and cleaning. Then, they bought clothes before finally returning home. It was enough to tire anyone out. Lin Lixuan didn’t have much energy, but Ger Yan was so excited that he wasn’t the least bit tired.
He put his old clothes on Lin Lixuan, so that he wouldn’t catch a cold. He lowered his head and saw the other party’s handsome face. Lin Lixuan, who was asleep at this moment, had a calm and serene face. There was no teasing smile on his face when he (LLX) annoyed him. He looked very happy. He felt like the other party was like the Monkey King in his story, with seventy-two transformations. When he was acting childish, he was like a six-year-old child. When he was being serious, he was like a father…
…
After changing into new clothes, he felt happy. Ger Yan’s hand inadvertently pinched a strand of his black hair on his sideburns. He recalled Lin Lixuan’s expression of amazement when he saw him at the cloth shop. It showed boy shyness and happiness. Ever since that night, they hadn’t developed their relationship any further. Ger Yan felt like a little mouth who had fallen in a honey pot…
Every day was both sweet and sour…
Sour? That must be something wrong with his tongue. Ger Yan couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hmm? Is someone showing off their beauty?”
